Lock for interlocking switch-stand mechanism.



F. G. ANDERSON.

LOOK FOR INTERLOGKING SWITCH STAND MECHANISM. APPLIOATION FILED 0M. 15,1913.

1, 108,879, Patented Sept. 1, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

A a torney THE NORRIS PETERS PHOTO-LI'I'HLL. WASHlNU'f'UN. D. C.

F. C. ANDERSON.

LOOK FOR INTERLQGKING SWITCH STAND MECHANISM. APPLICATION TILED OCT. 15,1913.

1,108,879, Patented Sept. 1, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Witnesses.-

DQZ M 42 M 6mm AM W M Attorney THE NORRIS PETERS CO.. PHOTO-LITHOHWASHINGTU". 1.!v L.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK C. ANDERSON, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

LOCK FOR INTERLOCKING SWITCH-STAND MECHANISM.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK C. ANDERSON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Cincinnati, in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Looks forInterlocking Switch Stand Mechanism, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to switch stands and its object is to preventaccidental movement of the interlocking bar at all times even should theapparatus above it be disarranged or destroyed by accident.

My invention consists in the parts and in the details of constructionand arrange ment of parts as will hereinafter be more fully describedand claimed.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a general perspective view of a switchstand with interlocking mechanism provided with my invention; Fig. 2 isa detail side elevation of part of the switch stand showing the relationof the interlock operating mechanism to the switch-throwing lever; Fig.3 is a detail perspective View of the interlocking plungerhead; Fig. 4is a plan view of the interlocking plunger housing and the plunger andits head in place therein, together with part of the interlocking-bar,the housing being shown in position in the head block, and the bolt ofthe lock'being shown in section; Fig. 5 is a plan view of theinterlocking mechanism and the lock pivoted thereon, the T-head beingshown in section through the center of its pin; and Fig. 6 is a verticallongitudinal section on a line corresponding to the line 03 of Fig. 5.

The switch stand 1 has the main shaft 2 journaled vertically in it,being held in upper and lowerbearings by caps 3 and 4, respectively.Below the lower bearing, this shaft has the crank 5 with the crank pin6, adapted to receive the connecting rod, which is connected to thepoint rails of the switch. Above the upper bearing, this main shaft 2has fixed on it the fulcrum-head 7, said main shaft being supported bythis fulcrum-head 7 bearing down against the upper side of the upperbearing. The fulcrum-head 7 has the switch-operating lover or handle 8pivotally swinging on the pivot 9. The top of this switch stand 1comprises the horizontal plate 10, which has slots 11 and 12diametrically opposite on. a line through the center of the main shaft2, and thehandle or lever 8 is adapted to engage in either one of theseSpecification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 1, 1914.

Application filed October 15, 1913. Serial No. 795,224.

slots when the switch is completely thrown one way or the other. Thehandle or lever 8 has the car 13 above its pivot 9, with an opening 14adapted to receive the bow or shackle of the padlock to engage againstthe outer face of the fulcrum-head 7, whereby the lever 8 may be lockedagainst swinging out of the slot 11 or slot 12 as the case may be. Thetarget shaft 15 is journaled vertically, parallel with the main shaft 2,in upper and lower brackets 16 and 17, respectively, which are bolted tothe switch stand 1 along with the caps 3 and 4, respectively, of theupper and lower bearings of the shaft 2. Above the upper bracket 16, aslotted arm 18 is pinned or otherwise suitably fixed to the target shaft15, and, by bearing against the upper side of the bracket 16, supportsthe target shaft. The upper end of the target shaft carries the blades19 and 20 extending at right angles to each other and adapted,respectively, when turned in direction crosswise of the track, to signalsafety or danger.

The combination target and interlock-operatin lever 21 has a pivot 22 inone of two stops 23 and 24 which are providedon the plate 10 for thefulcrum-head 7. This pivot 22 is concentric with the pivot 9 of theswitch-operating lever or handle 8. Pro jecting from the side of thelever 21, toward the switch operating lever 8, is a boss 25 that carriesa lug 26, and the switch op erating lever 8. has a slot 27 that receivesthe lug 26, whereby the target-operating lever 21 is moved along withthe switch operating lever 8, the two levers swinging together on theirconcentric pivots 9 and 22.

A bifurcated connection-head 28 flanks the slotted arm 18 above andbelow, and a pin 29 passes down through this head 28 and slides in theslot 30 of the arm 18. This head 28 has, projecting over toward thetarget-operating lever 21, a lug 31 and a bifurcated socket 32 flanksthis lug 31, with a pin 33 passing horizontally through them, thuspivoting them together so that the socket 32 can swing on the head 28-in a vertical plane. A rod 34 is screwed into the socket and has alock-nut 35 to hold it stationary therein; this rod 35 has bifurcations36 with eyes 37 which receive between them on the upper end part of thecombination lever 21,

and a pin 38 passes through the eyes 37 and through said upper end partof the lever 21, thus pivoting the rod 34 and the lever 21 revolutionwhen the lever 21 is swung up ward through a quarter-revolution- Thebracket 16 has a lug 39 to guide the head 28 at the outside, and, toprevent op, eration oi the target mechanism independ, ently of theswitcl'i-operating mechanism,

the fulcrum-head 7 carries a segment 40 con centric with the shaft.

swung around the segment will be swung along with the fulcrum-head 7into the path of the head 28, so that it will be impossible I to returnthe target-operating mechanism to safe position until theswitch-operating mechanism has been brought entirely back 1 so that theswitch is safely closed.

It will be understood that when the switch operating lever 8 returns inits horizontal position the combined target and interlockoperating lever21 will be found also in horizontal position, and the slot 27 in thelever 8 will receive the lug 26 of the lever 21, and then the two levers8 and 21 will move down to vertical position together, bringing thetarget back into sate position.

The switch stand 1 is mounted on the head blocks 42, and one of these,close to the switch stand, between the switch stand and the track, isgained or recessed and receives a housing 43. The point rail 44 of theswitch has a guard 45 bolted to it as seen in Fig. 1, and theinterlocking bar 46 is secured to this guard 45 by means of nuts 47clamping the guard and adjustable along a rounded part 48 of the bar 46.This bar 46 slides through a part of the housing 43 that ex tendsoutside the head block 42. A guide 49 for the interlocking bar 46 isalso provided on the head block 42 about midway between the housing 43and the track. The housing 43 is bolted to the under side of a plate 50which lies flat on the upper side of the head block 42, completelycovering the recess or gain in the head block and being screwed orotherwise suitably secured to the head block as shown in Fig. 1. Slidinghorizontally in the housing 43, at right angles to the interlocking bar46, is the interlocking plunger 51. The interlocking bar 46 has anopening 52, and this interlocking plunger 51 can extend through thisopening 60 and out through the outside of the housing 43' when the pointrail 44 is drawn up close to the stock rail 53 of thetrack and is perfectly safe for traflic. The parts are so made, however, that it thepoint rail 44 is, for any reason, left any appreciable distance Theterminal part; 41 of the segment acts as a guide for the; head 28 at theinside while the switch-opcrating lever 8 is being brought up tohorizontal position, but as soon as this lever is '56 whichmakes up,with the arm 57 and the arms 58, a bell-crank of integral construction.The plunger 51, as shown in Fig. 5, has a head 59 fixed to it inside thehousing 43 and the arm 57 of the bell-crank extends down and engages inthis head 59 in such a manner that, if the arms 58- of the bellcrank areraised, this arm 57 will pull the V plunger 51 back from theinterlocking bar 46.

0n the combination target and interlockoperating lever 21, about inalinement with the boss 25-and the lug 26, is a stud or pivot 60, bymeans of which the connecting rod 61 is connected to said lever 21. Thisconnecting rod 61 extends down and has a rounded part 62 that is screwedinto a T- head 63 and provided with a lock nut 64 to fix it therein.This T-head 63 is brought between the arms 58 of the bell-crank and apivot pin 65 passes through the arms and through the horizontal part ofthe T-head. One of the arms 58 is provided with a projection 66 withwhich the square head of the pin 65 engages, so that the pin isprevented from turning inthe arms and all of the wear takes placebetween the pin and the T- head 63.

From the above description it will be seen that, simultaneously with theoperation of the target mechanism preliminary to throwing the switch,the combination-lever 21 opcrates through the rod 61 and T-head 63 toraise the arms 58 of the bell crank, which,

, as before described, withdraws the plunger 1 51 from the interlockingbar 46, after which I the switch may be opened by swinging the lever 8in its fulcrum-head 7 around in the j horizontal plane as beforedescribed. When the switch is to be closed again, the opening 52 in theinterlocking bar will not be in position to admit the plunger 51 as longas 1 the point rail 44is any appreciable distance I away from the stockrail 53. It will thus be impossible to bring the switch-operating lever8 down to vertical position in the slot 1 11 with its ear 13 protrudingto receive the I padlock unless the point rail 44 has actually beenbrought up to safe position and the plungerhas entered the opening 52 inthe interlocking bar 46. It will of course also, be impossible to turnthe target to safe? position until the point rail has thus actually beenbrought up to safe position.

The interlocking plunger head 59 has an extension 67 out over the partof the plunger 51 that extends through the interlocking bar 46, and thehousing 43 has a recess 68 in its upper part, immediately under theplate 50, which this extension occupies when the plunger 51 is throughthe bar 46, and back through which the extension slides when the plungeris withdrawn from the bar. Extending Vertically down through the plate50 and entering a slot 69 in the extension 67 is the lock bolt 7 O,which has a flange 71. that bears down'on the upper side of the plate 50and limits the downward movement of this bolt and merely permitting thebolt to extend through the extension 67 as shown when the plunger 51 isthrough the interlocking bar 46. The upper part of the bolt 70 is guidedin the upper end of the lock casing 72, which incloses a helical spring7 3 surrounding the bolt 70, bearing down against the upper side of theflange 71 of the bolt, and bearing up against the lower side of the topof the casing 72. Thus the bolt is normally held down through the slot69 in the extension 67 and will prevent the backward movement of thehead 59 and the plunger 51. Above the casing 7 2 the plunger has abracket 74 fixed on it and this bracketextends down the outside of thecasing and has an inverted stirrup 75. The casing has a laterallyextended pedestal 76 within which an arm 77 is pivoted to swing up anddown, and this arm bears upward in the stirrup so that when it swings upit raises the bolt 70 against the pressure of the spring 73, withdrawingthebolt from the slot 69 in the extension 67 and allowing the head 59with the plunger 51 to move back and withdraw the plunger 51 from theinterlockin bar 46. The arm 77, outside the pedestal (6, has a treadle78, which, when depressed by the foot of the operator, raises the arm77'with the effect above described. As shown in the drawings, the slot69 in the extension 67 of the head 59 is somewhat elongated, so that aslight movement of the head 59 with its extension 67 will be permittedwhen the bolt 70 is extending through-the extension. This allowance ismade in view of slight variations which-may be due to differences ofadjustment in the operative connection from the head 59 up to thetargetancl interlock-operating lever 21. As this movement, thuspermitted, does not allow the disengagement of the plunger 51 from theinterlocking bar &6, it is not objectionable. a

The bolt 7 O has, just above the flange 71, a reduced part or neck 79,which is provided to make this the weakest part of the bolt 7 0, so thatif the parts mounted on the upper side of the plate 50 are dislocated ordestroyed by accident, the bolt 70 will break in the neck 79, leavingthe lower end of the bolt with the flange 71 holding it in positionextending through the extension 67 of the head 59 and preventingwithdrawal of the plunger 51 from the interlocking bar 46, so that theswitch will be held closed even be used as described.

" though the entire upper mechanism of the switch stand and target andinterlocking mechanism has been swept away.

The plate 50, securely screwed to the head block 42, completely coversthe housing 43 and the plunger 51, and its head 59 therein will remainin this position, covering these parts, even when the crank casing andcrank and the lock casing and other parts above the plate have beencarried away as before alluded to, and with the lock bolt 70 so arrangedthat it will break oif and leave its lower part inserted through theextension 67 of the head 59 as above described, the maintenance of theplunger 51 in interlocking positionis insured at all times and at allcontingencies of traflic. Atthe same time, the lock is manually releasedfor throwing the switch in a most'convenient manner, the operator merelypressing the treadle with his foot as he is about to begin to raise theswitch-operating lever 8 to horizontal position after he has removed thepadlock from the ear 13 of thisl'ever 8. Even though he has thus removedthe padlock it will be impossible for him to throw the switch until hehas pressed this treadle.- As long as the switch is open, the bolt 70will be held up by hearing against the smooth upper side of theextension 67, but'when the switch is returned to closed position thebolt will automatically drop into the slot 69 under the pressure of thespring 7 3, depressing the arm 77 and raising the treadle 78. r 1

I have shown and described my invention associated with a switch standoperating through an angle of 180 and having a target operating throughan angle of and with the target-operating mechanism arranged asdescribed for the purpose of operating the target" completely beforebeginning to throw the switch. However, it will be understood thatmerely the interlocking mechanism may be connected to such a lever asthe lever 21 and the target may be operated directly on the main shaft,as with a. switch stand throwing through an angle of 90. In any case myimproved lock may modifications either in association with the lock orin the details of the lock itself may be made without departure from thescope or spirit of my invention which is defined by slot, of a lock boltentering said slot to engage with the member having the slot,

means normally holding said bolt in said slot, and means for manuallywithdrawing the boltfrom the slot, a plate over the member having theslot, said plate having an opening through which the lock bolt ex- Alsovarious other tends into the slot, and an enlargement of the lock boltengaging with the plate, said bolt having a weakened part above theenlargement whereby the bolt will break in such part and leave the partof the bolt in position extending through the opening in the plate andextending into the slot in said member with said enlargement holdingthis part of the bolt in such position.

2. In. a, lock -for switch. interlocking bolt having a weakened partwhereby it will break and leave the part of the bolt in positionextending through said plate and into the slot in said member with theenlargement bearing againstthe-plate to maintain the part in suchposition.

'3. In a lock for switch interlocking mechanism, the combination with'aninterlocking bar and an interlocking plunger to engage with the bar,of ahead fixed to said plunger, an extension on'said head,,saidextension having a slot therein, a plate over said'extension and havingan-opening, a bolt extending through the opening into the slot in theextension, a flange on the bolt bearing down against the plate andlimiting the movement of the bolt into the slot in the extension, acasing forming an upper guide for the bolt, a spring compressed betweenthe flange of the bolt andpart of said casing, and means for manuallyraising said bolt against the pressur of said sprin 4:. In a lock forswitch interlocking mechanism, the combination withv an interlockingbar, an interlocking plunger engaging with said bar, of a head fixed tosaid,

plunger, an extension onv saidhead' over said interlocking bar, ahousing inclosing and guiding the interlocking bar and the plunger andhaving a recess-receiving'the extension ofsaid head, a plate coveringsaid housing and the recess therein and covering said extension in saidrecess, said plate having anv opening and said extension having a slot,a bolt extending down through the openingin the plate and entering theslot in the extension when said plunger is en ga'ged with saidinterlocking bar, means for normally holding the bolt within the slotin.

the extension,- and means for withdrawing the bolt from said slot.

5. In a lock for switch interlocking mechanism, the combination with aninterlock ing bar, an interlocking plunger engaging with said bar,'ofahead fixed to said plunger, an extension on said head over saidinterlocking bar, a housing inclosing and guiding the interlocking barand the plunger and having a recess receiving the extension of saidhead, a plate covering said housing and the recess therein and coveringsaid extension in said recess, said plate having an opening and saidextension having a. slot, a bolt extending down through the opening inthe plate. and entering the Slot in the extension when said plunger isengaged with said interlocking bar, said headhaving lateral extensionsnear its end opposite from the interlocking bar and said housing havingslots in its sides receiving said lateral extensions whereby that end ofthe head is guided in the housing, means for manually withdrawing thebolt from the slot in the extension, and means for automaticallyreturning said bolt tosaid slot.

6. In a lock for switch interlockin -mechanism, the combination with aninter oeking bar, an interlocking'plunger engaging with I said bar, of ahead fixed to said plunger, an

extension on said head over said interlocking bar, a housinginclosingand guiding the in terlocking bar. and the plunger and having I a recessreceiving the extension of said head,

a plate covering said housing and the recess therein and covering saidextension said recess, said plate having an opening and said extensionhaving a slot, a bolt extending down through the opening in the plateand entering the slot in the extension when said plunger is engaged withsaid interlocking bar, means normally holding the bolt down in the slotin the extension, and means for j manually withdrawing the bolttherefrom, said extension having a surface with nhieh r the lowerpart ofthe bolt engages as theplun-v ger is withdrawn from the interlockingbar,

whereby the bolt is held up and permits the sliding of the lunger withthe head and said extension in either direction until the bolt has againentered the slot in said extension upon the reengagement of the plungerin the interlocking bar.-

7 In a lock for switch interlocking mech; anism, the combination with aninterlocking j'bar, an interlocking plunger engaging with- }sa1d-bar, ofa head fixed to said plunger, janextensionon said head over saidinterlocking bar, a housing inclosing and guiding the interlocking barand the plunger and having a recessreceiving the extension ofsaid head,a plate covering said housingand the recess therein and covering saidextension in said recess, said plate-having an opening and saidextension having a slot, a bolt extend-ing down through the opening inthe plate and entering the slot in the exten-' sion when said plunger isengaged with said interlocking bar, means for normally holding the boltwithin the slot in the extension, and means for withdrawing the boltfrom said slot, a bell crank engaging with said head to withdraw orree'ngage said plunger with the interlocking bar, a switch-operatinglever, and interlock-operating lever, disengageable operative connectionbetween said switch-operating lever and said interlock- 10 operatinglever, and operative connection between the interlock-operating leverand said bell crank, said slot being elongated to allow said bolt toenter it Within a range of variations in the position of the plunger asinvolved in the operation of the plunger 15 through the bell crank andthe operative connection thereof with the interlock-operating lever andthe switch-operating lever. FRANK C. ANDERSON. Witnesses:

JAMES N. RAMSEY, CLARENCE PERDEW.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0."

